Today, we're doing a "Day in the Life" review of the iPhone 11 Pro Max in 2024, so we're going to spend the day exploring New York City, taking some photos and videos on the phone along the way, getting some work done, going to the gym, and much more—all while using the iPhone 11 Pro Max to get me through the day to give you an idea of how this phone holds up in 2024.
So, the 11 Pro Max was released back in Fall 2019 as the very top-tier iPhone 11 model. It features a 6.5-inch OLED 60 Hz display with rounded stainless steel edges and a frosted back glass design, with three 12-megapixel main, ultrawide, and telephoto camera lenses. The 11 Pro iPhones were the very first to add the ultra-wide lens, which was the beginning of the triple-lens camera design that we've had on every Pro-tier iPhone since, all the way up to the newest 15 Pro Max. Isn't it crazy how much larger the rear cameras have gotten in just 5 years? To think we thought the 11 Pro Max's cameras were comically large back when they launched—man, we had no idea what was to come.
The 11 Pro Max is powered by the Apple A13 processor with 4 GB of RAM, which is still plenty fast and responsive in 2024 on the latest iOS 17 update, which is to be expected with Apple's long-lasting silicon processors. As always, though, the bigger factor of concern with iPhones that have processors that are almost 5 years old is the longevity in terms of major iOS update support over the next several years. This phone is nearing the end of its lifespan for major iOS update support, unfortunately, but we'll talk more about that in a little bit.
The 11 Pro Max has a 3,969 mAh battery that provides solid battery performance. The 11 Pro Max was always known as a battery champ; however, because this phone is almost 5 years old and most 11 Pro Maxes circulating in the wild have been put through many charge cycles at this point, most 11 Pro Maxes are no longer at their full battery capacity due to battery degradation over time. So, depending on the condition of the battery in each specific 11 Pro Max, battery performance will vary quite a bit in 2024.
But after getting some caffeine in my system, it's time to head over to Central Park, as it's a beautiful summer day and it's a perfect place to snap some photos and videos on the 11 Pro Max and also on the very latest 15 Pro Max for comparison.
So, the iPhone 11 series iPhones was a big upgrade for camera technology on the iPhone, not just because of the 11 Pro's new ultra-wide lens, but also because features like Apple's Deep Fusion image processing system and Night Mode for low-light shots were introduced with the iPhone 11 series, making the 11 Pro Max here hold up impressively well 5 years later in the camera department. At first glance, even compared to the newest 15 Pro Max, there aren't any differences that jump out at you. Of course, the newest 15 Pro Max's main camera lens is 48 megapixels as opposed to the 12-megapixel main lens that the 11 Pro Max has, resulting in the 15 Pro Max outputting 24-megapixel shots as opposed to the 12-megapixel shots that the 11 Pro Max outputs, which do have more sharpness and detail—mainly noticeable when you zoom in on a photo you've already taken—but this is again not really that noticeable. Of course, you also can...
Take 5 times shots thanks to the ultrawide lens. This was again the very first iPhone generation to add the ultra-wide camera lens. You also get two times optical zoom with the telephoto lens on the 11 Pro Max, and the absolute maximum digital zoom level for photos on the 11 Pro Max is 10 times, which is quite a bit less than the newest 15 Pro Max's 25 times digital zoom. It is nice to have very close digital zoom, but it's not a huge deal to me personally, and the 11 Pro Max still gets you pretty close with that 10 times zoom.
The 11 Pro Max's 12-megapixel front-facing camera takes great front-facing photos, and the 11 Pro Max also shines when it comes to video recording as well. Here are some 4K 60 frames per second video shot on the 11 Pro Max and on the latest 15 Pro Max. Similar to the photos we were just looking at if you pixel peep, you will notice the newest 15 Pro Max's videos are a bit sharper, but it's not that noticeable.
I’ve got to say, the iPhone 11 series iPhones are what I would consider the oldest iPhones you could use right now, and still feel like you have a solidly modern iPhone camera experience overall. Of course, there are a host of additions you don’t get with the 11 Pro Max, such as some specific use-case situation features like Action mode for more intense video stabilization and Cinematic mode for videos with a shallow depth of field effect. But things like this are probably features you wouldn't be using daily anyway. The maximum digital zoom level for video on the 11 Pro Max is six times, whereas, on the newest 15 Pro Max, it’s 15 times. Once again, the 11 Pro Max's front-facing camera looks great for videos as well; it has plenty of capability for any video calls or front-facing videos.
All right, after heading out of the park, I had a craving for some pizza, so I looked for the nearest corner pizza joint on Apple Maps and started walking over there. The hype surrounding NYC pizza is not at all exaggerated in my opinion, as you could go to a shop on any corner and get consistently better pizza than you'd find pretty much anywhere else. I’ve personally been really into white pizza lately, which is a type that doesn't include tomato sauce. The primary ingredients are cheese, olive oil, and garlic, which is super fresh.
Throughout the day using the 11 Pro Max so far, the most noticeable difference between this phone and newer iPhones is the way it feels in the hand. The more rounded edges, instead of the much flatter edges that the newer iPhones have, are more comfortable to hold. As much as the flatter edges on the newer iPhones look a lot nicer in my opinion and offer improved durability in some cases if you use your phone without a case, the older, more rounded edges on the 11 Pro Max feel more comfortable in the hand. But since most people use a case on their iPhone, as you should, this isn't going to be that big of a deal.
While we’re on the topic of physical differences between the 11 Pro Max and the newer Pro Max iPhones, the display size of 6.5 inches is a bit smaller than the 6.7-inch display size that all the newer Pro Max iPhones have had since. But honestly, this is not a difference that’s that noticeable to me. In my opinion, it’s not a jump in size substantial enough to be a super noticeable factor, so no complaints about the screen size of the 11 Pro Max at all.
Next, I had a couple of hours of work I needed to knock out, so I headed over to the library and set up shop here working. I did take a 20-minute break within these 2 hours, using the phone to browse Instagram and Twitter. But after wrapping up work here, it’s time to head back to my apartment for a bit and talk about the overall value of the iPhone 11 Pro Max in 2024, the price, and where you can buy it.
You can generally get a good used, unlocked 64 GB iPhone 11 Pro Max for around $280 to $300 on used marketplaces like eBay or Amazon. If having a Pro Max iPhone is important to you and you're not looking to spend more than $300 on your phone, this is a solid deal right now, as all the newer Pro Max iPhones in the used market are going to be closer to the $400 price point or more. Honestly, you get the majority of the Pro Max iPhone experience with the 11 Pro Max here in 2024. It has a massive 6.5-inch display, and a great camera system that holds up impressively well after almost 5 years, it’s still very fast and responsive on the latest iOS 17 update and overall feels very modern to this day.
As I briefly talked about earlier, though, the biggest downside to using an iPhone that’s coming up on 5 years old is the not-so-great longevity in terms of major iOS update support over the next several years. Apple typically gives each iPhone around six to seven years of major iOS update support these days, and considering the 11 Pro Max is already about to go into its sixth major iOS update this coming to fall with iOS 18, it's very likely nearing the end of its lifespan for major iOS updates. It’s hard to say if it'll be getting iOS 19, which will be announced in about a year from now, but at the very least, you're confirmed for at least one more year of major iOS update support with iOS 18, which does officially support the 11 Pro Max.
Of course, you can still use an iPhone for years after it doesn't get the latest iOS updates, but the experience does start to worsen over time as you become out of sync with newer software features in the Apple ecosystem, some of which may become commonly used by other iPhone users, which will, in turn, make your experience worse. For example, several years ago with iOS 12, Apple introduced Group FaceTime on the iPhone, and a few years before that, with iOS 10, Apple introduced the Tapback Reactions feature for iMessage that is now commonly used. Apple is always adding things like this that often become quite popular very quickly, so it’s important to consider long-term iOS update support when buying a used iPhone.
All this being said, considering the $300 price point of the 11 Pro Max in the used market, a shorter iOS update support lifespan is to be expected. Now, just as a side note, in my opinion, the best dollar-for-dollar value used Pro Max iPhone you can buy right now is the 13 Pro Max, which you can get for around $550 to $600 on used marketplaces. I believe the 13 Pro Max is the perfect balance of being new enough to have a long lifespan ahead of it with at least three, possibly four more years of major iOS update support thanks to the A15 processor powering it, but it’s also a few years old, resulting in a solid price in the used market. But, of course, this is way over budget for those looking to spend around the $300 mark for their iPhone purchase. Still, it’s worth noting that the 13 Pro Max is what I consider to be the best dollar-for-dollar value in terms of a used Pro Max iPhone right now.
Something else you should know when buying any used iPhone is the battery health capacity of the iPhone you’re buying. As always, the battery performance of any device will vary quite a bit depending on the condition of the battery in each specific device, depending on the level of battery degradation. The 11 Pro Max I’ve been using in this video is at 81% battery health capacity, which is definitely on the lower side. If possible, I’d highly recommend buying a used iPhone only if the battery health capacity is 85% or higher, just to ensure you’re getting somewhere close to the full battery capacity of the phone. You can generally find this info in the listing for used iPhones, and if it's not there, I recommend asking the seller.
So next, I headed over to the gym and worked out for an hour while streaming music from the 11 Pro Max to my Bluetooth headphones. On the way back from the gym, I took a few nighttime shots to showcase the Night Mode feature that the 11 Pro Max has and also compared it with the Night Mode feature on the latest 15 Pro Max. Here’s a photo in the same environment without Night Mode on for both of these devices. You can see Night Mode does help brighten up the shot quite nicely, and as you're seeing, the 11 Pro Max's Night Mode holds up impressively well against the latest 15 Pro Max's Night Mode.
After that, I headed home to knock out another couple of hours of work and started winding down for the night. After that, I took a 20-minute FaceTime call and then used the phone for about an hour and 15 minutes, doing various things such as looking at some emails, using the Gmail app, using Twitter, and Instagram, and looking at some YouTube shorts. Finally, I capped off the night with 1 hour of YouTube video streaming from the phone to my AirPods.